This is a list of earthquakes in France and its overseas territories which directly impacted the country. Earthquakes are rare in mainland France but do occur. Within mainland France, the east of the country Alsace, Jura, Alps, the South-East Alpes-Maritimes, Provence and the Pyrenees are the most concerned, but the most seismically active French regions are parts of Overseas France (such as New Caledonia, Martinique, Guadeloupe, Wallis and Futuna and Réunion). Buildings there are often vulnerable, and much of the population lives at low elevations close to the coast and is exposed to tsunamis.
Earthquakes + Date Location MMI Deaths Injuries Damage / notes Ref 2023-06-16Western France4.8 Mw 5.3–6.0 Ml1Some buildings damaged2022-03-31New Caledonia7.0 IV Small tsunami2022-03-12Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes4.5 MwVISome buildings damaged2021-06-12Mauritius-Réunion region6.7 IIINo damage, but significantly large.2021-02-10New Caledonia7.7 IV Tsunami2019-11-11Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes4.8 MwVI4Some houses damaged2018-12-05New Caledonia7.5 VIModerate damage/tsunami2018-08-29New Caledonia7.1 VSmall tsunami2018-06-01Mayotte4.7 V6Part of an earthquake swarm2018-05-15Mayotte5.9 V3Part of an earthquake swarm/Largest ever recorded in the area2017-11-19New Caledonia7.0 VISmall tsunami2017-02-03Martinique5.8 MwV1Some damage2016-04-28Nouvelle-Aquitaine3.9 MwIVMinor damage2007-11-29Martinique7.4 MwVII6402Intermediate depth2006-11-17Midi-Pyrénées4.7 MwVMinor damage2004-11-21Guadeloupe6.3 MwVIII1132003-02-22Grand Est5.0 MwVI1996-07-15Haute-Savoie5.3 Mw1Chimney damage 1993-03-12Wallis and Futuna6.4 MwVII520Severe damage in Futuna1991-02-13Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur3.8 MwIV9Deaths from avalanche1982-01-06Nouvelle-Aquitaine4.4 MwIVMinor damage1972-09-07Nouvelle-Aquitaine5.7 MwVII1967-08-13Pyrénées-Atlantiques5.1 MwVI180Severe damage1946-06-25Valais6.1 MwVIII13 deaths in Switzerland/Severe damage1909-06-11Provence6.0 MwX46250Severe damage1887-02-23Liguria6.8–6.9 Mw600–3,000Destructive tsunami1843-02-08Guadeloupe8.5 Mw1,500–5,0001839-01-11Martinique7.5–8.0 Mw390–4,00028,975Extreme damage1799-01-25Vendée6.4–6.5VIII1682-05-12SavoieVIII1678-09-02Bouches-du-Rhône6.0 MwSevere1660-06-21Hautes-Pyrénées6.2 MLVIII–IX301580-04-06Dover Straits5.3–5.9 MLMany1428-02-02Catalonia6.7Hundreds 1248-11-25Savoie, Mont Granier9,000Deaths caused by landslide.P. Alexandre, Les séismes en Europe occidentale de 394 à 1259. Nouveau catalogue critique., Publ. Observatoire royal de Belgique, Bruxelles, 1990. J. Berlioz, « L'effondrement du Mont-Granier en Savoie (fin 1248) », dans Le Monde alpin et rhodanien, 1987, .1227 FebruaryProvenceX5,000Note: The inclusion criteria for adding events are based on WikiProject Earthquakes' notability guideline that was developed for stand alone articles. The principles described also apply to lists. In summary, only damaging, injurious, or deadly events should be recorded.
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